Ore separator and amalgamator.



m. 639,089, Patented Dec. l2, I899.

l. A. PALM EB. ORE SEPARATOR AND AMALGAMATOR.

(Application filed Apr. 12, 1899.)

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(No Model.)

Wiigesszs No. 639,089 Patented Dec. l2, 189

l. A. PALMER. ORE SEPARATOR AND AHALG AMATUR. (Application filed Apr.12, 1899.)

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m S H No. 639,089. Patented Dec. l2, I899.

I l. A. PALMER.

ORE SEPARATOR AND AMALGAMATOB. (Application filed Apt. 12, 1899.) (NoModel.) 3 SheetsSheet -3.

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llirn STATES ISAAC A. PALMER, OF SEATTLE, WVASHINGTON.

ORE SEPARATOR AND AMALGAMATOR.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 639,089, dated December12, 1899.

Application filed April 12, 1899. Serial No. 712,775. (No model.)

separation by screening of the gravel and coarse sand or dirt from thefine black sand and small particles of gold, such as flake or flourgold.

One of the difiiculties heretofore encountered in saving gold by theplacer-mining process and appliances resides in the interference of thefine black sand with the amalgamation of the fine particles of gold.lhave constructed my machine with aprons and riffies which are carriedby a laterally shaking or vibrating box, and these elements are arrangedto permit of the free escape of the black sand, while allowing theuninterrupted amalgamation of the fine particles of gold by said apronsand the rit'fles.

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide an apparatusespecially designed for the collection of the extremely fine particlesof or the flake or flour gold which, under the familiar process oftreatment, is allowed to escape with the water, sand, and gravel,whereby the efficiency of the apparatus is promoted and its capacity forcollecting fine gold is increased.

A further object of theinvention is to provide an apparatus in which thewashings of coarse gravel, sand, and dirt are subjected to a panningoperation before their escape from the machine, thus saving the fineparticles of gold which would have a tendency to be carried off with thegravel and dirt that is separated from the fine sand and gold at theinitial stage of treatment of the gangue or gold-bearing soil.

With these endsiu View the invention consistsin the novel combinationsof elements and in the construction and arrangement of parts, which willbe hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand the invention, I have illustrated thepreferred embodisite extremity of the frame.

ment thereof in the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of thisspecification, andin which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an oreseparator and amalgamator. Fig. 2 is a Vertical longitudinal sectionalelevation on the plane indicated by the dotted line 2 2 of Fig. 3. .Fig.3 is a horizontal sectional plan view illustrating the amalgamator-pan,the plane of the section beingindicated by the dotted line 3 3 of Fig.2. Fig. 4c is a vertical trans verse section on the line 4 10f Fig. 2.Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail perspective View of one of the riffies.Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a portion of the grizzly,

showing the primary coarse screen and the fine amalgamator-screen at thefall situated at the head of the grizzly. Fig. 7 is an enlarged detailsection through the tailings-receptacle of the shaking-box.

Like numerals of reference denote like and corresponding parts in eachof the several figures of the drawings.

The frame 10 of the improved machine consists of the longitudinalbase-sills 1 1,the crosssills 12, the struts or braces 13, the posts14:, and the longitudinal carrying-rails 15. All these parts are joinedsolidly together in any suitable Way to present a substantial rigidstructure, and the rails 15 are arranged in horizontal elevatedpositions on the posts 14 for the purpose of suspending the vibratingbox by which all of the operating devices are carried. The shaking -box16 is arranged within this supportingframe 10,and the width of said boxis less than that of the frame for the purpose of hanging the box withinthe frame to enable a transverse shaking or vibrating motion to beimparted thereto. This shaking-box exceeds in length thesupporting-frame within which it is suspended, and the box is thusadapted to receive the gangue beyond one end of the frame and todischarge the gravel, dirt, and sand beyond the oppo- This box consistsof the bottom 17, the sides 18, and the vertical end Wall 19 adjacent tothe receiving end of said box. This receiving end of the box is providedwith a horizontal headboard 20, which lies at right angles to andextends beyond the end wall 19, and said headboard is firmly secured tothe sides and end of the box, whereby the ore may be deposited upon thehead-board to be fed to the grizzly. At the discharge end of the box thesides 18 thereof are cut away to provide the extensions 23, and to thevertical edges of these extensions there is secured the vertical board22, while the foot-board 21 is secured to the sides in a horizontalplane below the headboard 20. The foot-board 21 and the vertical board22 lie at right angles to each other adjacent to the delivery end of thebox, and this vertical board22 and the extensions 23 of the sides assistin forming a railings-box, to be presently described, in which thetailings are deposited for treatment before their final discharge fromthe machine.

The grizzly 24 consists of a metallic plate or sheet which is securedfirmly to the upper part of the shaking-box. This grizzly is secured tothe box for its end at the head of the box to lie below the head-board20, while the opposite end of the grizzly rests upon the footboard21,said grizzly being united to the sides, the head-board, and thefoot-board of the box to secure water-tight joints between the parts.The grizzly is provided with groups of perforations at pointsintermediate of its length, and in the embodiment of the inventionrepresented by the drawings I have shown two of such groups ofperforations and indicated the same by the reference-numerals 25 26. Thegroup of perforations 25 is formed in the grizzly near the head-boardthereof, while the other group of perforations 26 is contiguous to thefoot-board, thusleaving the grizzly imperforate in the intervals orsections between such perforations.

The box is suspended within the frame 10 by the hangers or links 27,each of which has one end connected with the frame, while its other endis attached to the shaking-box 16. It is immaterial whether thesehangers are made.

of straps or metal; but in the cheap portable class of machines I preferto use leather straps which are well oiled, while in other kinds ofmachines metallic bars or links may be pivoted to the frame and the boxto allow the latter to vibrate or shake transversely within the frame.

The embodiment of the invention represented by the accompanying drawingsembraces hand appliances for shaking the suspended box, and in this typeof operating mechanism I employ a horizontal rock-shaft 30, which isarranged longitudinally of the machine at one side of the shaking-box,and the ends of this rock-shaft are journaled in proper bearings 29,which are secured to extended ends of the cross-sills 12, as shown byFigs. 1 and 3. This rock-shaft has an up right hand-lever 31 securedfirmly thereto, and on opposite sides of this hand-lever short posts 42are secured firmly to the rock-shaft thereof for the purpose ofcommunicating the motion of the rock-shaft and the posts to the box 16.

An imperforate section of the grizzly is provided between the firstgroup of perforations 25 and the head-board 20, and this end of thegrizzly is secured to the under side of the head-board for the purposeof forming the drop or fall 34 at the head of the grizzly. This drop orfall accommodates a coarse heavy separator-screen 35 and an amalgamatedfine screen 36, and both of the screens are arranged over theimperforate section of the grizzly between the head-board 20 and theperforations 25 in the grizzly. The coarse heavy screen 35 is secured tothe sides of the box in a position to lie flush with the upper surfaceof the head-board 20, and said coarse screen should be properlysupported, so that it will not settle in the middle thereof when loadedwith gravel or sand. The fine amalgamator-screen 36is made of finecopper wirenetting having from eight hundred to one thousand meshes tothe square inch, and this netting is well cleaned with acid and ischarged with pure mercury to give an amalgamatingsurface thereto. Thefine amalgamatorscreen is secured to a light frame of wood 36, and thisscreen 36 is arranged beneath the coarse separator-screen 35 midwaybetween the latter and the imperforate section of the grizzly, so as toleave a space between the amalgamator-screen 36 and the separatorscreen35 and also between the imperforate section of the grizzly and theamalgamatorscreen, whereby the last-named screen can be adjusted beneathor removed at will from the coarse heavy screen. The coarse screen 35will carry out the coarse gravel and other material, while the water andfine pulp will descend through the meshes of the screen 35 to and uponthe fine amalgamator-screen 36, and the fine gold which comes in contactwith the screen 36 will be caught and amalgamated with the mercury filmthereon. The water, the fine black sand, and other fine waste materialwhich does not amalgamate with the mercury film of the screen 36 willpass through the minute meshes of said screen 36, and thus the materialis treated at the point of its reception in the machine to collect apart of the fine gold.

At the discharge end of the vibrating box I provide atailings'receptacle. This receptacle is formed in part by the extensions23 of the sides 18 and the vertical board 22 of the box 16, and thereceptacle is completed by fastening a copper plate 37 to the extensions 23 and the board 22, the joints between the parts being madewater-tight to retain the fine materials. This copper plate has itsinner surface coated with quicksilver as an amalgamating agent, and atthe delivery end of the tailings-receptacle this plate is formed with avertical flange 38.

At the lower end of the shaking-box I provide an inclined screen 39,which is secured vided with a curved riftle 48, the latter beingprovided with a plurality of perforations 49 and having the upperconcave face thereof coated with a suitable amalgam. In each of theriffles there is provided a series of two or more collector-balls 51,which are loosely arranged in the riffies to travel back and forththerein, and each collector-ball has its spherical surface covered witha mercury film to constitute an amalgamating-surface. In the practicalconstruction of my machine I prefer to make each apron and the riffie ofcopper and to coat the surface thereof with quicksilver; but it isunderstood, however, that the apron may be made of other materials-suchas iron, wood, burlap, blanket, tin, carpet, or any other suitablematerial-in which event the riffle must be made of copper plate,

curved and perforated, as described, and having the amalgam film on theconcave face thereof, said riltle being attached to the lower end of theapron in order to separate the black sand from the gold.

It will be observed that each little is perforated for the purpose ofdischarging the black sand through such perforations, while the finegold is designed to be caught by and amalgamated with the mercury filmof the riffle. In the absence of the perforations in the riffles theblack sand would have a tendency to fill the rill'les completely andwould pack solidlyin the riftles, so that the line gold would escape.

I provide the shaking-box and the failings receptacle with agitator-bars52, which are suitably secured in horizontal positions above the amalgamfilms on the pan 4% and the plate-like bottom 37 of thetailings-receptacle, and each of these a-gitatorbars is provided with aseries of stirrers or agitators 53, which are secured firmly to the barsand have their free ends contiguous to the bottom of the pan as and theplate 37 of said tailingsreceptacle. The agitators serve to stir up theblack sand in the collector-pan of the tailings-receptacle, so that thesand cannot become packed and cause the gold to escape over the rim ofthe pan or the flange of the railings-receptacle.

It will be understood that my machine may be made of various sizes, fromthe small handpower machine up to machines of large capacity. It is mypurpose to manufacture machines which will be large and strong enoughfor use at the lower end or dump of flumes of large capacity employed inhydraulic mining for the purpose of saving a large amount of fine goldthat escapes in the ordinary process of hydraulic mining. In thisadaptation of the invention the machine must be stronger and heavierthroughout all its working parts, including a strong framework, strongscreens of heavy sheet-iron or perforated cast-iron adapted to carry offthe heavy gravel and boulder, and all bearings and connections must beof substantial metal. It is evident that power mechanisms for shakingthe box may be substituted for the handpower mechanism. It will also beunderstood that in machines of large capacity the number of rifiies andaprons may be increased, and this increase in the number of riffies maybe efiected on the aprons individually on the collectorpan 44 and in thetailings-receptacle.

From the foregoing description it will be noted that the grizzly, thesailings-box, and the screens at the head of the grizzly are allsupported by the framework attached to the swinging box, which issuspended in the framework, and all of said devices are removable atwill from the machine without affecting the lower box thereof in orderto remove and replace the aprons and riffles when it becomes necessaryto clean up and remove the amalgam and gold from the machine. The

frame for the grizzly is constructed, preferably, of wood, and thegrizzly, the tailingsbox, and the screens are attached to said frame forremoval therewith. The sides of the grizzly-frame should be directlyover the main box below it, and they may be connected to said box bydowels or otherwise, as shown by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 4. AlthoughI have described that the grizzly is perforated at intervals, I may usea plate with perforations throughout its width and length when onemachine is used for treating certain kinds of material.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details ofconstruct-ion within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof this invention.

hat I claim is 1. In an ore separator and amalgamator, a suspended boxprovided with a grizzly perforated at intervals throughout its length, acollector-pan fixed to the box below the grizzly and provided withperforated riflies, a series of aprons within the box, below theperforated sections of the grizzly, and each havingaperforated rifile instaggered relation to the riffles on the collector-pan, a primary screenat the head of the grizzly, a railings-receptacle at the delivery end ofthe box and provided with an inclined apron and a riffle, and adischarge-screen extending from the grizzly over thetailings-receptacle, substantially as described.

2. In an ore separator and amalgamator, a shaking-box provided with agrizzly and with a railings-receptacle, a collector-pan attached to saidbox below the grizzly, a series of inclined aprons secured within thebox and the tailings'receptacle thereof, and the curved perforatedriffles at the lower discharge ends of said aprons and having theamalgamated balls or spheres confined loosely therein, substantially asdescribed.

3. In an ore separator and amalgamator, a shaking-box provided with aseries of riftles, each having its concave face coated with an amalgamfilm, each ri'ffle being further pro-.

firmly between the sides of the box and has its upper edge arrangedflush with the tail end of the grizzly. This screen inclines downwardlyfrom the grizzly, and its lower edge terminates'above the verticalflange 38 of the plate-bottom 37 to the tailings receptacle, thusforming an overflow discharge-opening 40 from the tailings-receptacleand below the lower edge of the screen 39. This screen is thus arrangedover the tailings-receptacle in a position to discharge the coarsematerials and gravel which may travel through the box upon the grizzly,and the fine sand and particles of gold contained therein are free topass through the meshes of the screen 39, so as to lodge within thetailings-receptacle.

. An inclined apron 41 is secured firmly in place within thetailings-receptacle below the screen 39, and this apron 41 assumes aposition within the failings-receptacle inclined reversely to theinclination of the screen 39. This apron may consist of a copper platehaving its upper surface coated with an amalgam film, and said apronextends from a line near the discharge end of the screen, across thetailings-receptacle, and terminates above the bottom or plate of saidtailings-receptacle contiguous to the vertical board 22. The inclinedapron is thus arranged relatively to the screen 39 to receive the finematerials and gold which may pass therethrough, and this apron isprovided at its free edge with an upwardlycurved riffle 42. This riffiemay be formed on the apron 41 by bending orcurving the lower edgethereof, or the riffie may consist of a copper plate suitably attachedto the lower edge of the apron. The riffle has its inner concaved facecoated with an amalgam film, and it is provided with a plurality ofperforations 43, which permit the fine materials, such as sand, to passthrough the riffle, while the fine particles of gold will becomeamalgamated with the mercury film on the concave face of the riffle. Theriffle supports a series of two or more amalgamator-balls 50, which areloosely placed in the rifiie, to be confined therein by the curvature ofits plate, and these balls consist of a suitable metal having theirspherical surfaces covered with a mercury film. The halls are placedloosely in the curved riffle, and they are free to travel or movetherein when the box 16 is agitated sidewise.

The inclined screen 39 at the tail of the grizzly carries 01f the coarsegravel and other waste materials, and all of the fine pulp and othergold-bearing materials in the tailings will pass through the meshes ofthis screen 39 to lodge upon the apron 41. These fine materials traversethe apron toward the riffle. They are deposited on the amalgamatedbottom plate of the tailings-receptacle, and the sand and other refuseare discharged through the overflow-opening 40 at the rear end of thetailings-receptacle. It will be understood that the apron, the riffle,and the bottom or pan of the tailings-receptacle are to be made ofcopper, well cleaned and charged with mercury. All the gravel and thegold-bearing material that may have traversed the perforated main screenor grizzly and arrived at the railings-screen 39 is thoroughly washed,and the coarse materials will pass over the screen 39, while the finematerial will lodge within the tailings-receptacle. The apron, riffle,and bottom of the tailings-receptacle being provided withamalgamator-surfaces compels the fine gold to come in contact with themercury to be amalgamated therewith. One of the important features ofthis tailingsreceptacle and of the machine generally is that there isvery little waste of water, because the water will pass either throughthe grizzly or through the tailings-screen 39. It is well known thatWater, wherever it may flow, will carry with it the fine flake or flourgold, and by compelling the water to pass through my machine and byscreening off the coarse gravel and other waste materials the water willcarry the fine gold to the devices provided for its amalgamation, whilethe coarse waste material is discharged in a comparatively drycondition.

At the lower side or bottom of the swinging box I provide acollecting-pan 44, which is secured firmly to the sides and the endboard 19 of said box, the joints being water-tight between the box andthe pan to prevent the waste of water and the materials. At the lowerend of this pan 44 is provided a raised segmental flange or rim 45,which gradually merges into a perpendicular at each side where the rimis secured to the box. This bottom pan 44 is of copper plate, having itsupper surface coated with mercury, and the oscillating or vibratingsidewise motion of the box causes the water and the pulp containedwithin the pan to whirl from the sides thereof as it comes in contactwith the curved rim, thereby forming small eddies in the moving liquidmass and precipitating the fine gold to the amalgamated surfaces of thepan,whereby the gold is caught and retained in the pan. The pan isprovided at intervals of its length with transversely-arranged curvedand perforated ri'ffles 46, and near the tail end of the pan a series ofdischarge-openings 46 is provided in the bottom of the pan within theraised flange or rim thereof. Beneath the grizzly 24, which is carried bthe shaking-box, I provide a series of inclined aprons 47. These apronsare secured within the box between the pan 44 and the grizzly 24, andthe aprons are arranged below the perforated sect-ions 25 26 of thegrizzly, whereby the fine materials which pass through the openings inthe grizzly are adapted to lodge upon the aprons 47. The aprons arejoined with the grizzly at lines below the groups of perforationstherein, and these aprons are inclined in a, direction toward thevertical end 19 at the head of the box. The aprons terminate a suitabledistance above the collector-pan 44, and each apron is provided with aplurality of perforations in its bottom, and an amalgamatedcollector-ball confined loosely in each curved riffie, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

4. In an ore separator and amalgamator, a shaking-box provided with aperforated grizzly, a series of aprons supported below the perforationsin said grizzly and each inclined reversely to the course of the ore asit traverses the grizzly, a series of amalgamated riffles at the freeedges of said aprons, each riffie provided in its bottom with aplurality of sand-escape perforations, and collector balls confined insaid curved riffles, substantially as described.

5. An ore separator and amalgamator comprising a shaking-box,aperforated grizzly attached to said box, means for imparting lateralshaking motion to said box, a collectorpan carried by the box anddisposed longitudinally of and below said grizzly, a series of apronsWithin said box, between the grizzly and the collector-pan, and inclineddownwardly from the grizzly toward the head of the box to terminateabove the bottom of said pan, a perforated and amalgamated riiile at thefree edge of each apron, and a collectorball confined in each riflie andmovable freely in a direction transversely across the box on thevibration thereof, substantially as described.

6. An ore separator and amalgamator comprising a shaking-box providedwith a grizzly, a tailings-recept-acle carried by said box at itsdelivery end and having an amalgamated bottom terminating in a verticalflange, a screen inclined from the grizzly and extending over saidflange of the tailings-receptacle to form overflow-openin gs between thelower edge of said screen and the flange, and an apron disposed withinthe tailings-receptacle below the screen and inclined toward the head.of said receptacle,said apron provided at its free edge with aperforated riffle, substantially as described.

7. An ore separator and amalgamator com prising a shaking-box providedwith a grizzly, a tailings-receptacle carried by said box, an inclinedseparatorscreen attached to said tailings-receptacle, an apron supportedin the tailings-receptacle below said screen and inclined reverselythereto, a curved perforated riffle at the free lower edge of saidapron, and a collector-ball confined loosely in said riffie,substantially as described.

8. An ore separator and amalgamator comprisinga shaking-box providedwith a grizzly, a collector-pan secured to said box below the grizzlyand provided with a raised curved rim at its delivery end, a series ofriffles fixed to the bottom of the collector-pan, a series of apronssupported in the box between the grizzly and the collector-pan andinclined from said grizzly toward the head of the pan, a series ofriffles at the free edges of the aprons and arranged alternately withthe riffles on the bottom of the collector-pan, each riffle having theperforations and an amalgam film, and an agitator supported Within saidbox above the collector-pan therein, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ISAAC A. PALMER.

Witnesses:

RALPH SIMON, H. LEW'IS.

